1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electromagnetic switching apparatus, and in particular to an improved electromagnetic switching apparatus having electrically-separated stationary contact elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electromagnetic switching apparatus including stationary contact elements which extend around one end of a plurality of movable contact bridges and which are coupled to terminal elements, and electrically-separated stationary contact elements disposed at the other end of the contact bridges on both sides thereof, are known in the art. For example, German Auslegeschrift No. 1,258,957 discloses an electromagnetic switching apparatus of the foregoing type in which separated fixed, i.e., stationary, contact elements are provided with separate terminals. In this apparatus, the connecting line clamped to the terminals must be changed from one terminal to the other if the function of the contact bridges is to be changed from a "break" function to a "make", i.e., making contact, function. Besides the additional cost of providing an additional terminal for the second contact elements, another disadvantage of this apparatus is that the connecting line or wire must be disconnected and then reconnected in order to change the function of the contact bridges from one of "breaker" to "maker" or vice-versa. In this situation, marking of the terminals is of particular importance so that the wire is not reconnected inadvertently to the terminal of the wrong contact.